Nostalgia, Friendship and Cricket: Recalling India's Tour of Pakistan, 2004

Scripting history after playing hot potato

Dravid’s knock of 270 helped India win the Third Test

Nothing comes easy for the Indians. They still ended up making a mess of the final game, before turning in an inspired performance to finish the tour on a resounding high note. Ganguly, back in the side as skipper, put the hosts into bat upon winning the toss. Large scale changes were made to both sides, with Fazl-e-Akbar coming in for Umar Gul for Pakistan, and Ashish Nehra returning to the Indian side in place of a listless Ajit Agarkar.

Yet again, it was Balaji, the Chennai seamer, who decimated the rival lineup with his swing and accuracy. With Nehra and Pathan proving reliable backup, the ever-smiling Balaji kept pricing out the batsmen and even enthralling the home crowd despite their obvious disappointment. Soon, they were tottering at 137/8 and India were well and truly on top.

You never know what to expect when the Indian side is on top in a Test match. The bowlers, it seemed, began to relax a little. Mohammad Sami took advantage of that and calmly struck a composed 49, with Akbar doing his bit of blade swinging and connecting well for his 25 runs.

They finally ended on 224, and with the pitch doing a lot to assist pace, seam and bounce, India were in for a rough ride. Those fears doubled when Akhtar, bowling on his home ground, took out triple centurion Sehwag first ball, resulting in Dravid finding himself in the middle a little too early for his liking.

He did what he normally does – he stayed put and began rebuilding the innings brick by brick. With makeshift opener Parthiv Patel (a move that surprised many) for company, the Bangalorean added 129 for the second wicket, weathered the loss of his partner & Tendulkar in succession, before forging key stands with Laxman and then Ganguly.

Pakistan just couldn’t get him out for a very long period of time, until part-timer Farhat dismissed him after he’d piled up 270 – an innings characterized by solid concentration, impeccable timing and immaculate defence. India were all out for 600, a huge lead, and Dravid, like so many times in his distinguished career, had bailed them out of trouble yet again, confirming his standing as a quintessential team man.

And Pakistan crumbled. Wilted would have been more appropriate, but there was one man who tried his best to salvage something – Asim Kamal, whose second-innings half-century enabled his side to at least post a respectable total. Helped by the Indian fielders who dropped as many as six catches in a twisted version of Hot Potato, the southpaw managed to keep his team’s spirits up for a brief while.

Balaji, much like Simon Jones of England a year later, did most of the damage, and old warhorse Kumble took four wickets, polishing off both the tail and removing Yousuf who scripted a well-made 48. Akhtar, who had fallen on his follow-through in India’s first innings, bashed a couple of sixes and four boundaries in a little cameo, but the rivals were just too good, and the game ended with a day and a half to spare; India won by an innings and 131 runs, taking the series 2-1, and fulfilling Vajpayee’s expectations.

India celebrate after clinching the Test series 2-1

Summary

In all those 38 days, India truly looked the better side. Pakistan had their moments too, with their captain leading from the front and rejuvenating a side that had looked dispirited and forlorn in the run up to the series. They exacted vengeance a year later on Indian soil, yet 2004 completely belonged to Ganguly and his boys.

Coach John Wright must have been a proud man that time. His bunch of young men shrugged off the disappointment of finishing second best at the World Cup final to secure victory in a country they hadn’t won in a long time. It was a coming of age for Irfan Pathan and Lakshmipathy Balaji, both of whom would represent India for quite some more time.

Triumph over adversity, against arch rivals, in their own backyard, is something to be savoured. Hopefully, Virat Kohli & Co. can take some lessons from this band of cricketers who played their hearts out.